7
Anna Westbrook v. A Shift
"Where are my cookies? You never show me love the way you show other people. I told everyone in town about our relationship, and you hid me away like a dirty little secret. You couldn't wait to scrub the truth off of that shitty little shop window of yours. I am so fucking tired of your shit. Don't you care that you're hurting me?"
Exhibit number 111: excerpt from a letter sent from the defendant, Noah Hall, to Anna Westbrook.
-o-
In the weeks Anna spent avoiding Forks, the community changed. Ever since the shop was vandalised, she carefully avoided spending excessive amounts of time in public. She became even more reclusive. She went to the hospital for her rehabilitation appointments - three sessions a week. She went to Westbrook's a handful of times to check on things. And she went to the hardware store just once, to buy a drill and another lock for the front door, which she installed herself. Everything else she handballed to her sister: grocery shopping, trips to the post office, the refilling of prescriptions at the pharmacy.
She hadn't expected it to be so difficult to show her face after what happened. She wasn't ashamed of what Noah had written about her. She was determined not to feel shame for his bad behaviour.
She avoided the town out of fear.
It was obvious to Anna - so obvious she wondered how she had never felt a cold sweat or a lurch in her gut over it before - that he was following her. He knew intimate details about her life, not just from his time chronically online, but from the real world. From watching her, not just when she was streaming, but when she was living. When she bought fresh bread from the bakery, when she ordered some new decaffeinated drink she was trying to learn to love, when she spent hours in the grocer's comparing the salt content of different food items - he witnessed all of it, not through the lens of a camera but in real time.
He was there, watching her.
And so the days came and went, and Anna spent them locked away from society. Eventually, the calendar month ticked over to May and Anna ventured into Forks for the first time in weeks, and discovered how differently it treated her.
At first, she hadn't noticed it. She stepped into Westbrook's and settled into work without issue. Melissa wasn't in, off gallivanting in the woods with her not-quite-boyfriend. Anna had the shop to herself, and she spent her time going over renovation plans. She sat at the front desk with a sheet of paper and made a list of changes to breathe new life into her store.
Her first customer of the day walked in as she was musing over paint colours, the soft ding of the bell above the door lifting Anna's head. She smiled over at Mrs. Mallory, the mayor, but the older blonde woman's face scrunched immediately as if she had bitten into a lemon.
"Oh." She froze by the door, and with both hands grabbed the ends of the light silk scarf wrapped around her neck. "I think I'll shop online."
She turned and left.
Anna blinked, stunned. She watched through the shop window as Mrs. Mallory rushed down the street. The sharp pang of pain in her chest had her eyes widening, but she realised quickly it wasn't her old stumbling heartbeat she was feeling.
A lump formed in her throat.
Noah had taken a lot of things from her. He robbed her of the feeling of safety in her own neighbourhood. He robbed her of a career she liked. Even her heart, he had taken. He stole it just with a fistful of scribbled letters. And now, he was taking her shop from her. He was taking her hometown from her. He was taking her whole life. She'd never thought it possible for things to become worse. For him to interfere beyond letters and a sick but distant pining.
She closed the shop early that day. Went into the backroom to brew a cup of comforting tea. Jinx, the shop cat, lurked in the back corner. She crouched to pet his smooth black fur, knowing it would make her feel better. Two beady yellow eyes opened to peer up at her and, seeing that it wasn't his beloved Melissa, he stood and walked away.
Anna looked across the room. By the back door, a calendar was nailed to the wall. It was the first of May. Her birthday loomed over her, lurking in wait on the third. This was public information online. A sudden fear gripped her, plunging her into ice water. What if Noah decided to give her a present? What if her stalker, again, gave her something meant to take more away from her?
She didn't bother to make her cup of tea. Just lowered herself to the floor, hid her face in her hands, and cried.
-o-
It took her longer to drive home than usual. Tears kept blurring her vision and she had to keep pulling over, terrified she would steer the car off the road and into the woods faithfully winding on alongside the highway. By the time she got home, it was dark. She pulled into the driveway, and popped open the car door. When she ducked out, she peered up at the unforgiving sky. All deep navy, a starless night. The shadows of clouds rolled overhead with the wind and the moon was a round blurry glow in the distance, even though she was wearing her glasses.
She took a shaky breath, moved her glasses, and wiped her cheeks with the backs of her hands though they were long-since dry. Upstairs, the second floor window glowed yellow. Melissa was home and she would not let her see her crying. She straightened her spine, and sorted through her keys as she approached the front door.
"Shit."
Her heart - Rachel's heart - dropped to her feet. The quiet hiss had come from her right, beyond the wall of shrubs and grass separating her unit from the neighbour's. If it had been louder, she wouldn't have thought a thing about it. Paul had no reason to be quiet. Paul had no reason to not be detected.
Her head snapped to look over. Paul's unit was dark, all the lights off. She peered through the shadows lurching in the wind and into his front yard. Empty. Not a soul in sight. But that didn't make sense. She heard someone. She knew she had.
Noah.
It had to be. He was nearby. He was lurking in the shadows, watching her. For how long? Had he been here watching Melissa who was all alone? Had he been here the whole night?
The wind brushed over her skin. A chill ran through her and her skin prickled. She adjusted her keys so they peeked through the gaps between her fingers in a closed fist. Her other hand slipped to her pocket. She pulled out her phone, fumbling with it to call the police.
Something moved.
She gasped.
The dark unveiled him all at once as her eyes adjusted finally to the poor lighting. A large figure stood by Paul's door, broad and tall and terrifying. She'd never seen Noah before. Was this him? Was this giant man him?
And then he turned slightly. Looked at her with wide eyes. Dim moonlight bathed his naked body.
Naked.
Oh, God.
Ice.
She was ice.
"Stay back," she warned. Her voice wavered into terror momentarily. She didn't sound as threatening as she had hoped. She brandished her fistful of keys at the man, hoping it would make up for it.
The whites of his eyes glowed in the night. Quickly, he moved to cup himself with one hand. He reached towards her with the other. "I-"
"Don't move!"
Pepper spray. Why hadn't she bought pepper spray? A lock. Another lock for the door, but she hadn't thought of pepper spray?
Her stalker froze.
Good.
She tried to slow her breathing, tried to think of what to do next. All the while, her eyes were on him, never drifting, not even so much as blinking.
"I'm not going to hurt you," he said. His voice was deep, trying to take control over the situation.
Anna wouldn't let him.
The minute Noah had control over what was happening, she lost. She would lose.
Her phone, she remembered. She glanced at the screen from the corner of her eye, navigating through her phone.
"I swear, I'm not-" His shadow shifted in the dark, closer to her.
Anna jerked back. "I told you not to move," she said. "Stay right there."
"Who are you calling?"
"The police," she said.
The whites of his eyes grew larger, reflecting more light. "You can't do that."
"What did you think was going to happen?"
"Don't call anyone."
She ignored him, and punched in the emergency number. Just as she was about to dial, he moved.
He rushed towards her, not quite running. His arms extended, and he was exposed once again. His hands, his giant hands reached for her in the dark. Her heart hammered in her chest. Uncomfortably quick but not painful, not like before.
Anna screamed.
The sound ricocheted off the houses lining the street. It spiralled all the way to the bottom of the hill. There wasn't a person in the neighbourhood who wouldn't have heard.
A light turned on in Paul's unit. Noah froze, halfway to her.
Anna held her breath.
The door swung open, and a beam of yellow light cut through the darkness of Paul's front yard. It stretched out, touching Noah's feet. They glowed bronze. She noted this. It was something she could tell the police later.
Paul stepped outside, bare feet padding across the concrete. He wore only a pair of shorts. He quickly looked over the two of them.
Then, he yawned, and scratched his bare stomach. "The fuck is wrong with you, Jared? You scared the shit out of her."
Jared?
Who was Jared?
"I didn't try to!"
"Try harder, idiot." He jerked a thumb back towards his apartment, and the giant man - Jared - fled inside. Paul turned his attention to Anna then, face softening in the buttery yellow light. "You okay?"
Anna forced herself to breathe. Air rattled in her lungs, a sound too close to crying for it to be satisfying. She looked at her hands, bringing her attention back to her body. One held her phone, 911 still punched in. The other was extended, metal keys peeking out from her fist.
Both were shaking.
She pocketed her phone. Slowly, she lowered her other hand. Metal jingled as she let the keys slip from between her fingers and instead hang limply in her hand. Only now was she realising how useless her plan had been. In the light, she'd finally realised how large that man was, how lean, how strong. If it had been Noah, not Jared - whoever that was - she wouldn't have stood a chance.
"Anna?"
She pushed her hair away from her face and focused on her breathing. She felt unwell. A jitteriness dwelt in her limbs, urging her to run. She felt hot and cold all at once. Her stomach churned with unprocessed dread. None of it was pleasant. She brought her hands to her chest, and pressed them against the warm skin.
"Is your heart bothering you?"
Alarmed, Paul moved to her side. His hands hovered awkwardly over her shoulders, dancing away at the last second. Anna felt the heat from his palms, though he never touched her, easing the tension in her shoulders. His presence beside her felt comforting. Familiar. Gentle and friendly.
God, she needed a friend after a day like today.
She shook her head. "It's just been a long day."
"Jared didn't mean to scare you," he said.
"Why was he naked?"
Paul was quiet for a moment.
Anna turned her head to look at him, startled by the proximity of his face. She could see the dusting of beard hairs over his jaw, feel the warmth of his cheeks radiating towards her. His dark eyes were set on her as he contemplated his answer.
She stepped back.
"Would you believe me if I said he was a werewolf?"
Anna scoffed. "No."
"It's a full moon," he said, jerking his chin towards the round disc hiding behind the drifting clouds. "Why not?"
He was being silly, trying to make her feel better, at ease once more. He was annoying her too. It was a fair question to ask him, and his attempts to brush it aside were not lost on her.
Just as she was about to push him for a proper response, the door to her own unit flung open. Melissa stood in the doorway, armed with Anna's softball bat, glaring fiercely out at the two of them. Her shoulders slumped when she spotted her and Paul standing outside. She lowered the bat.
"I thought you were being murdered." She set the softball bat against the wall by the door.
So did Anna, though she didn't say that.
"Anna had a bit of a scare," Paul said kindly.
"Really?" Melissa raised her eyebrows. Her gaze drifted from Paul to Anna. "I thought it was impossible to scare you. What happened?"
Paul opened his mouth but, before he could respond, Anna spoke.
"Paul's weird naked friend tried to break into his house."
"Oh," Melissa said.
Anna frowned.
Melissa's face had barely shifted. It wasn't the response she'd expected. She almost seemed… unsurprised. What had Melissa encountered in all those weeks Anna was in hospital? Had something similar happened she just never mentioned?
Before she could ask, Melissa stepped outside and took her hand. "Tea?" she asked, dragging her inside. "I made dinner, too. It's not great, but there's leftovers in the fridge. Do you want me to heat some up?"
Anna nodded numbly, but all the while, she couldn't help but think that the night was full of secrets. They swirled and brewed around her but refused to swell up and burst to the surface, into the light. Something peculiar was going on around Anna. Something was amiss.
-o-